1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method of treating meat prior to cooking which, when cooked, either in a conventional or microwave oven, results in a cooked product having less moisture loss and a greater retention of flavors than a non-treated product. The present invention also relates to a coating combination which when applied onto a meat product and then cooked imparts to the resultant cooked product a moist, marinated-like flavor. The coating combination of the present invention typically comprises from about 20 to about 33% by weight glycerol and from about 67 to about 80% by weight seasoning, with the weight percent being based on the combined weight of the glycerol and seasoning. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of glycerol and its application to a meat in order to reduce the normal amounts of moisture loss incurred during cooking, as well as to enhance the flavor impact of seasonings applied to the meat before cooking. Due to the intensification of the flavor impact of the applied seasonings provided by the methods and coating combination of the present invention, a meat product may be sufficiently seasoned with the use of a lower amount of the seasoning than is normally required.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two of the most important characteristics of a meat for the consumer are the meat's juiciness and flavor upon serving. It is well known to anyone who has cooked a piece of meat that upon cooking, meat loses moisture and undergoes a substantial weight loss which results in an obvious shrinkage of the cooked meat product. The total moisture loss in a meat, due to the cooking out of the natural meat juices, is an inevitable consequence of the cooking process and largely depends on the degree of cooking. This fact is evidenced by the simple comparison of the juiciness between a very rare steak and that of a well cooked steak.
Various and numerous methods have been employed over the years in attempts to guard against the moisture loss which is encountered in cooking meats. One such method, which became a standard practice throughout the meat industry, involved a method by which various brine solutions were injected into uncooked meats. These brine solutions, such as aqueous solutions of sodium chloride and one or more phosphate salts, would particularly inhibit and compensate for excessive moisture loss incurred during cooking. For example, an untreated beef roast will characteristically lose between about 25 to about 30% of its pre-cooked weight when subjected to normal cooking conditions. However, a beef roast having a pre-cooked weight of ten pounds and which is injected, prior to cooking, with a one pound brine solution comprising 0.825 pounds of water, 0.125 pounds of sodium chloride and 0.050 pounds of sodium tripolyphosphate, will weigh approximately ten pounds after proper cooking. Consequently, the weight of the cooked meat product treated with the brine solution reflects a moisture loss of approximately 10%, an amount considerably less than the normal 25 to 30% moisture loss generally incurred.
A similar composition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,522 to Wofford, et al., which is directed to a composition and method for treating meat to reduce moisture loss during cooking. The composition which is dispersed into the meat product is a briny slurry and is comprised of non-halogenated water, acetic acid, gelatin, starch, sodium chloride and one or more phosphate salts.
However, the use of brine solutions and brine slurries in reducing moisture loss in cooked meats is an involved and specific process, requiring the use of complicated and special equipment. In addition, an uneven distribution of the brine solution can cause color, flavor and texture problems in the meat. Accordingly, it would be preferable to find an alternative method for reducing moisture loss in meats, one which is simpler and easier to employ.
Aside from moisture loss in a cooked meat product, it is also critical to the consumer, as mentioned above, that the product has a pleasant taste to it. Raw meat, as it is well known, has no particular appealing flavor. It is only during the various processes of cooking that a meat flavor is developed through the combined effect of the chemicals produced from the thermal degradation of the meat components. Although a certain meat flavor is acquired by the meat during the cooking process, it has become quite popular to use one or more various seasonings to further enhance the taste and flavor characteristics of a cooked meat product.
Seasonings are used in the food industry in almost every product category, with processed meats being one of the major users of seasonings. With the proper choice of spices and/or flavoring agents, a myriad of flavor possibilities exist which can be imparted onto a meat product.
Depending upon the ultimately desired flavor or taste, the type of meat product, and the overall desired effect, varying amounts of seasoning is required. For example, if the meat is to possess a certain flavor throughout the product, the meat will generally have to be marinated. Marination is a process whereby a meat is allowed to soak in a seasoned solution for a period of time, allowing the meat to be enriched by the flavor of the marinade which penetrates the meat product. Such a process not only requires additional time in excess of the normal cooking time required, but also requires excessive amounts of seasonings. It would be preferable to have a method that results in a flavorable impact on meat, and most preferably, a marination effect on meat, that uses a minimum amount of seasoning and which can be accomplished in less time.
Propane-1, 2, 3-triol, or as it is more commonly known, glycerol, a trihydric alcohol, is a clear, water-white, viscous, hygroscopic liquid with a sweet taste at ordinary room temperatures. Glycerol occurs naturally in combined form as glycerides in all animal and vegetable fats and oils, and may be recovered as a by-product upon the saponification of these fats and oils in the process of manufacturing soap. Glycerol can also be obtained from the direct splitting of fats in the production of fatty acids. Commercially, glycerol has been produced since the late 1940's by synthesis from propylene.
The various uses of glycerol number in the thousands and include use in the manufacture of synthetic resins and ester gums, drugs, cosmetics and toothpastes. Tobacco processing, as well as foods, also account for large uses of glycerol. Glycerol as a food is easily digested and nontoxic. It's metabolism places it in the same category as carbohydrates, although it is present in combined form in all vegetable and animal fats. In flavoring and coloring products, glycerol acts as a solvent and its viscosity gives body to the product. Glycerol has been known to be used as a solvent, a moistening agent and as a vehicle for syrups. The uses of glycerol, however, in relation to meat products, and especially in relation to the problems sought to be solved by the present invention, are few.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,184; 4,904,490 and 5,069,916 (all to Buckholz, et al.) disclose the use of glycerine in microwave cooking. However, the glycerine is used for raising the dielectric constant of the surface of a foodstuff to be cooked. It is also disclosed that browning of the meat is enhanced through the use of dextrose and vinegar powder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,236 to Parliment et al. discloses the use of glycerol in an aroma-generating flavor composition for a food and/or package which is subjected to microwave radiation.